Hope in a Bookmark by Kenny Keppen
There was once a man who had long been looking for his purpose in life, but his hope had been shattered by a long line of discouraging things in his life. For a long time, the man had even lost his faith in the Lord and could never find the answers.
One day the man was walking across an old, grassy field where he used to go all the time when he was a child. At this time, he was in his mid-thirties, but the wrinkly bags on his eyes and his tattered clothes made him appear much older. He had walked about a quarter of a way through the field when he stopped. The man stared across the valley. The sun was now retreating to the west, its color now a bright orange. Its rays seemed to scatter across the sky, giving the clouds a yellow, light pinkish tint. As the sky drew farther from the sun, the sky faded into a sapphire blue. Goldenrod and dandelions were popped out across the entire field and the gentle breeze hit the mans face. A tier drew from his eyes as he took in all the things surrounding him. It felt as if there was a large hole in his heart and he thought about all the things that had gone wrong in his life. He thought about how lonely he was and he wondered why the Lord had abandoned him in his time of need, but just as he thought about this he remembered a little book that he always carried with him. Slowly, he pulled the book out of his pocket and he flipped to the page with a little blue bookmark that had a picture of a beach and set of footprints in the sand. He began to read it.
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, You said that once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome time in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed You most You would leave me." The lord replied "My son. My precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you" (Author Unknown).
At this moment, the man looked back across the field from where he had walked and he saw the fresh indents he had made in the grass. It was then that he realized that the Lord was there for him, even if the Lord was not right beside him. The man fell to his knees and tears streamed down from his face. The depression and sadness that he had felt only moments ago had now faded. Slowly the color returned to his face and it seemed as if a new light had lit the path for his life.
That day, the man left with a new sense of hope and faith. It would be a memory that he would never forget about and it would be one that he would cherish for the rest of his life.
